Preparation and characterization of self-assembled nanoparticles based on glycol chitosan bearing adriamycin

An anthracycline drug, adriamycin, was chemically conjugated onto the backbone of glycol chitosan via an acid-labile cis-aconityl linkage. The physicochemical characteristics of the glycol chitosan–adriamycin (GC–ADR) conjugates were investigated by dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The GC–ADR conjugates were capable of forming nano-sized self-aggregates in an aqueous medium, when the adriamycin content in the conjugate was in the range of 2.0–5.0 wt.%. The self-aggregates were spherical in shape, and had mean diameters of 238–304 nm, depending on the adriamycin content. The critical aggregation concentrations of the conjugates, estimated by the fluorescence quenching method, were as low as 1.0–2.5×10⁻² mg/ml. The size of self-aggregates was not affected by the polymer concentration in the range from 50 to 2,000 μg/ml, and was maintained up to 8 days in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4), indicating high colloidal stability. The release of adriamycin from self-aggregates was significantly dependent on the pH of the medium due to the cis-aconityl linkage; e.g., the amount of adriamycin released for 4 days was 7.3±0.3% at pH 7, whereas it was 29.3±1.9% at pH 4. The cell viability results demonstrated that free adriamycin shows more potent cytotoxicity than the conjugates, primarily attributed to the sustained release of adriamycin from self-aggregates. In conclusion, the self-aggregates, formed by GC–ADR conjugates, might be useful for the site-specific delivery of adriamycin in a sustained manner.     

Pulse plating effect on microstructure and corrosion properties of Zn–Ni alloy coatings

The influence of pulse plating parameters on the surface morphology, grain size, lattice imperfection and corrosion properties of Zn–Ni alloy has been studied. The coatings were electrodeposited in an alkaline cyanide-free solution. AFM was applied for surface morphology examination, XRD measurements were carried out for phase composition and texture analysis, electron probe microanalysis was used for alloy chemical composition studies, while electrochemical techniques were applied for corrosion performance evaluation. The pulse plated Zn–Ni coatings appeared to consist of the γ-Zn₂₁Ni₅ phase and the composition of the alloy depended on the plating parameters. The grain size, lattice imperfection and homogeneity of grain distribution were established to be the main factors determining corrosion behaviour of the coating. Presented at the 4th Baltic Conference on Electrochemistry, Greifswald, March 13–16, 2005     

纳米级金膜微电极的制作,表征及异相催化反应

报道了纳米级金膜微电极的制作方法，用ＸＰＳ及ＳＥＭ对电极表面进行了表征，考察了该电极的循环伏安及计时电流特性，在聚吡咯修饰微带金电极上成功地实现了葡萄糖氧化酶和电子传递媒体Ｆｅ（ＣＮ）６＾３－的同时固定，并研究了ＧＯＤ／Ｆｅ（ＣＮ）６＾３－／ＰＰｙ微酶电极对葡萄糖的响应，稳态响应电流与葡萄糖浓度之间存在Ｍｉｃｈｅａｌｉｓ－Ｍｅｎｔｅｎ动力学特征。     

Sequential actions of cobalt nanoparticles and palladium(II) catalysts: three-step one-pot synthesis of fenestranes from an enyne and an alkyne diester

A three-step one-pot synthesis of fenestranes from a readily available enyne and an alkyne diester has been carried out with cobalt nanoparticles and palladium(II) as catalysts.     

疏水化淀粉衍生物研究进展

淀粉化学品已广泛应用于各行各业,但由于传统淀粉化学品只有单一的亲水性,应用受到限制。淀粉的疏水化改性是提高淀粉化学品应用性能、赋予淀粉新的性能和功能性、进而拓宽淀粉化学品应用领域的重要方法,淀粉的疏水化改性已成为目前国内外的研究热点。本文综述了近年来制备的新的疏水化淀粉衍生物及其制备新工艺和性能研究方面的进展。     

Modification of the Orientation of Substitution Reactions on Thiophene and Furan Derivatives

Under normal conditions, thiophene and furan derivatives are substituted in the α position, and no convenient alternative methods for the preparation of β-substitution products have been available until now. The present article describes a method that permits the synthesis of many β-substituted thiophenes and furans. In this method, the carbonyl group in α-aldehydes or ketones of the thiophene and furan series is blocked by complex formation with an excess of aluminum chloride, so that electrophilic substitution takes place in position 4. In another useful method, the carbonyl group is blocked by acetalization. The acetals can be metalated in the ring by organolithium compounds.     

Click chemistry to construct fluorescent oligonucleotides for DNA sequencing

"Click chemistry" 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between alkynyl 6-carboxyfluorescein (FAM) and azido-labeled single-stranded (ss) DNA was carried out under aqueous conditions to produce FAM-labeled ssDNA in quantitative yield. The FAM-labeled ssDNA was successfully used as a primer to produce DNA sequencing products with single-base resolution in a capillary electrophoresis DNA sequencer with laser-induced fluorescence detection.     

Study on glucose oxidase fermentation coupled with membrane dialysis

The repression of glucose oxidase (GOD) biosynthesis by catabolites during fermentation can be alleviated through membrane dialysis fermentation (MDF). The results show that the volumetric enzyme productivity of MDF was two times higher than that of the control (fermentation without dialysis), and its total enzyme activity was increased by 30–50%. The operation conditions of MDF, such as pore size of the membrane, initiating time for membrane dialysis, and volume of dialysate used, were optimized. The content of amino acids and organic acids in the fermentation broth and the dialysate in the reservoir were assessed by amino acid analyzer and ionic chromatography, respectively. The relationship among the contents of pyruvic acid, gluconic acid, and enzyme activity during fermentation was analyzed quantitatively. Furthermore, the effect of membrane dialysis technology applied to the low-yield strain was found to be more effective than that applied to the high-yield strain.     

An attempt on the VOC oxidation using mechanically activated catalyst

A catalytic action of the mechanochemical products of copper hydroxocarbonate with calcium carbonate was investigated in n-butyl alcohol oxidation tests. The solid products of high-energy milling were identified using thermogravimetry supplemented by X-ray diffraction method. It was shown that the mechanical activation induces more effective tested catalyst because it promotes the alcohol conversion at lower temperatures than that unmilled one. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Theoretical study on conformational conversion of 1,3-dioxane inside a capsular host

The conformational conversion of 1,3-dioxane guest encapsulated inside a cylindrical capsular host was investigated with PM3 method and single point energies were evaluated by B3LYP method. When entrapped in the capsule, the guest tumbles were slower than that in the free condition. The influences of the inner phase of the capsule on the guest conformational conversion were discussed in detail.